Range Rover Evoque Convertible 2016 Review - International

Range Rover Evoque Convertible HSE Dynamic
International Launch Review
Courchevel, France

The Range Rover Evoque Convertible shouldn't make any sense, but it does. Taking luxury SUVs into uncharted territory, the Evoque is both capable and aspirational, pairing Range Rover's legendary off-road ability with stylish design and quality finishes. A convertible SUV shouldn't make much sense, but the Evoque Convertible has you questioning what an SUV can be...

When you're invited to drive a new convertible in the South of France, you don't say no. The lure of sun, sea and the world's beautiful people is pretty hard to resist. Imagine if you will, receiving that very invitation to Lyon to drive the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible. Then receiving a briefing that asks you to bring warm weather gear and snow boots.

Yes, Range Rover chose a luxury ski resort for the launch of its luxury SUV soft-top encouraging participants to put aside any assumptions that this is anything other than a serious car for wealthy drivers.

The Range Rover Evoque is a great example of what a car company can do when it sets its mind to it. Board members at Jaguar Land Rover advocated for the Evoque convertible to get it from concept through to production even though it is likely to be a niche vehicle – making up only 10 per cent of Evoque's total 100,000 units globally each year.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) could very easily have opted for a soft version of the Evoque when introducing the convertible model yet its engineering team was insistent that it should continue to embody Range Rover's all-terrain capability.

To that end, the Evoque convertible maintains the same 31-degree departure angle and 19-degree approach angle and breakover angle (18.9) as its hardtop siblings.

Launching the car in snow is a clever move by JLR. It shows the company has an utter confidence in its offroad prowess. And so it should.

An exercise served up to demonstrate All Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) on a ski slope showed how clever this system is [Ed: check out the video for more!].

Choose the ATPC program and select a speed up to 20km/h and the car will manage its own acceleration and braking while you provide steering input. It's a little disconcerting giving the power over to the car, but as our instructor stated "It's a perfect option for drivers who aren't confident off-roaders to navigate uncertain terrain".

Flick the ATPC off and a more proficient driver can start to have some fun with the car in its snow setting. On the third snowy lap the instructor switched off the traction control and the car came into its own, allowing you to drift around snowy bends with a broad grin.

Not many Evoque convertible drivers in Australia would be able or willing to undertake such activities in the snow, but that's not really the point. The thing is you totally could if you wanted to.

While JLR engineers didn't want to compromise its ride and handling or off-road capability, there are some concessions in the Evoque convertible.

Extra strengthening in the body structure has added weight to the car – making it slower and less fuel efficient, and the rear seat loses one seating position. The convertible is a 2+2 car.

Luggage capacity is reduced to 251 litres – certainly deep enough to carry a large suitcase as well as additional baggage and coats.

On road the convertible has handling characteristics which are very familiar to drivers of the five-door and coupe. Its stiffened chassis feels taught but not too tight, and it rides well on the larger wheel option. However, our test vehicles were equipped with a non-standard larger walled snow tyre so were not representative of how the car would handle in real world driving.

The 20-inch wheel comes standard with a low-profile road tyre. We'll wait to see how these perform on-road when the car lands in Oz.

We drove both 2.0 litre turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel variants and found the diesel to be the pick for mountainous terrain – the new 132kW Ingenium powerplant produces a generous 430Nm, propelling the larger mass confidently.

It's also delightfully quiet as far as diesel engines go, so driving with roof down on the open road with the optional, yet essential wind deflector in place was a revelation. It's easy to hold a conversation in the cabin at normal speaking volume, without having to raise our voices over road, wind or engine noise. It's easy to forget you're driving a convertible.

Part of that is no doubt due to the high belt line of the body and higher driving position which means you're isolated from road noise more than in a conventional convertible.

Visibility around the car with the roof down is good the rear headrests causing just a slight intrusion in the rear-view mirror. With the roof up, there is a decent-sized blind-spot in both rear corners but the large wing mirrors mitigate somewhat for all round vision when travelling in traffic. The rear window is quite narrow too meaning there's only a small field directly behind the car.

Reversing is made much easier thanks to the inclusion of a rear-view camera which is displays a clear image on the large colour touchscreen.

Range Rover has equipped all of its Evoque Convertible models with its brand new InTouch Pro 10.2-inch touchscreen system. It's a wide format screen, similar to that in current BMWs. Land Rover says the system is a first in a production vehicle to feature a Solid State Drive (SSD) which makes it quicker and easier to operate than systems which pull data from an SD card or even HDD.

Pinch and zoom the map and it reacts instantly, ensuring there's no frustrating moments waiting for the navigation system to catch up with the car. The SSD also offers 60GB of storage, enabling up to 16,000 songs to be saved within the car.

The Evoque Convertible has a good level of standard equipment. However, once you factor in options pricing for some of the features on our test vehicle, the price raises significantly. The sexy metallic orange of our test car cost $3640, and the Black Design pack, including 20-inch black wheels and a host of exterior styling finishes, adds $5720. The 14-way adjustable heated and cooled front seats with massage function and Oxford leather interior take the cost up by another $6175.

They're expensive options which push this car into elite territory but it's an elite club many will want to join as the Evoque Convertible takes SUVs to the next level.

2016 Range Rover Evoque Convertible Si4 HSE Dynamic pricing and specifications:
Price from: $92,015 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 177kW/340Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 201g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

2016 Range Rover Evoque Convertible TD180 HSE Dynamic pricing and specifications:
Price from: $92,410 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 132kW/430Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 149g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA